• Talks

    “My father always had these talks with me,” I told Meleia.  “I keep thinking I will grow out of this phase, but here we are.”  I watched Meleia put on her makeup and only wished I could get away with it.  Being that it was only my dad and I, he kept a tight leash on what was going…

  • An Honor

    “It was an honor to meet you,” I practiced saying into the mirror.  I was meeting the dean of the graduate school this weekend and I was working myself into a frenzy.  I needed to make a good impression as my department depended on it.  My job depended on it.  If we didn’t get the grand and permission we needed, our project was doomed.  My…

  • From the Stars

    “You will watch over us from the stars,” I said staring at the stars from the backyard.  I could still hear my sister and her boyfriend fighting.  It was like the wanted the entire neighborhood to hear them fighting since they only left the windows open when they were fighting.  Maybe it was an unconscious thing they had since they literally fought every time the windows…

  • Possession

    “Possessions matter little,” I tried to tell myself as I watched my house go up in flames.  I knew I shouldn’t care about the material items I was losing right before my eyes, but my home.  Where would I sleep tonight and what would I wear to work tomorrow?  Would I even go to work tomorrow?  Was this finally my…

  • Body Language

    His body language said he had something to hide.  He was trying to hold still, but couldn’t stop fidgeting.  Scott had never been able to sit still so it wasn’t entirely the fact he was hiding something.   “Scott.  Is there something you want to tell me?  Something you want to talk about?”  I asked putting my book down.  My brother paused, but…

  • Release Her Soul

    “I opened the window so her soul could be released,” I said to my stepmother.  I quivered with a certain amount of anticipation with what she would do next.  I was always in a constant state of guessing when it came down to react to what I did.  It seemed like she never did react the same way to…

  • The Darkened House

    Every night, I walked through the house with the lights off.  It was a ritual I started when I turned eighteen and was living alone for the first time.  Too many movies and podcasts about true crime and murder to not make sure I was locking all the doors and windows before I went to sleep.  It quickly became…

  • Thoughts and Prayers

    “I really hate it when people say I’m in their thoughts and prayers,” I mumbled as I fluffed the pillow under my head.  “They are just trying to be nice because they don’t know what to say.”  Michael flipped on his side to look at me.  “I wish they would do something other than think…

  • Influencer

    I knew I could influence Doug and lead him exactly where I needed him to go.  And it was imperative this time he followed my every instruction.  Without Doug, nothing would matter as the pieces of my plan would not fall perfectly into place.  I meant for this relationship to get me out of the financial crisis I was in,…

  • Journal Club

    I never thought my plan was going to work, but here we are, a room full of people and I was scared shitless.  I had prepared myself for about ten to fifteen people, not for the sixty people who showed up.  Most people made comments on how I wrote everything down and now here they were, sitting in…